Treatment continues on DeLand Publix plane crash victims

Friday

Apr 6, 2012 at 12:01 AMAug 15, 2012 at 2:01 PM

LYDA LONGA, Staff writer

One of two men flying in the experimental plane that crashed into a DeLand Publix was in the intensive care unit of an Orlando hospital Thursday, undergoing a painful skin removal procedure, his mother said.

Mary Rhoades -- who lives in Arkansas -- said Thursday that burnt skin was being removed from her son's body. The 73-year-old said she had not been able to speak with her son, but said his wife is at his side at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

"I'm sure he is not too comfortable right now," Mary Rhoades said. "But it has to be done (if he is going to get better)."

She said she will be flying to Central Florida today to see him.

The 52-year-old Thomas Rhoades was one of two men aboard the four-seat Seawind 3000 plane that slammed into the roof of the Publix supermarket, 299 E. International Speedway Blvd., on Monday night.

The other man aboard the plane was 60-year-old Kim Presbrey, a personal injury attorney from Aurora, Ill., southwest of Chicago. Thomas Rhoades is from Bull Valley, Ill.

Very little information was released Thursday about Presbrey, however. A spokesman for the Presbrey family, Chicago attorney Ed Ruff, said he had been retained to "represent the family and Mr. Presbrey's interests."

Bill Weir, another family friend and attorney who works in Presbrey's firm in Aurora, told The Beacon News in Aurora that Presbrey -- who has two sons -- had suffered third-degree burns and is also in the intensive care unit at the Orlando hospital.

Orlando Regional Medical Center spokesman Geo Morales could not provide any information regarding Presbrey, Rhoades, or Stetson University student Brendan Beitler. The latter was inside the Publix when the plane hit and suffered burns.

Meanwhile, the extensive cleanup effort continued Thursday at the 19-year-old store, said Publix spokesman Dwaine Stevens. The spokesman said an opening date has not been set because the extent of the damage is still being assessed.

"It's a tedious process," Stevens said, adding that there are several teams of workers laboring around the clock, clearing away the mess. "It's still early in the process. We (Publix officials) just took over two days ago."

In addition, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said a preliminary report on the incident will be released sometime next week.

Both Presbrey and Rhoades are experienced pilots registered in Illinois, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The men had departed from DeLand Municipal Airport and crashed into the nearby store at 7:20 p.m. shortly after take-off.